Short, daily run helps prolong life

WASHINGTON – Going out for a quick, daily run may be just as effective as a long-distance jaunt when it comes to prolonging your life, according to a recent study.

Running as little as five to 10 minutes per day can significantly cut the risks of getting heart disease and dying young, said the findings in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

People who exercised by running showed a 30 percent lower risk of death and a 45 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than people who did not run at all.

Runners could be expected to live about three years longer on average than nonrunners.

Even more, the benefits of running were the same whether people ran a little or a lot, fast or slow. There was no statistically significant difference among those who ran 50 minutes per week and those who ran 180 minutes per week, it found. Nor did it matter if the running was happening at a pace of less than 10 km per hour.

Even these minimal runners and slow joggers fared far better than people who did not run at all.